A study of the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the four gospels. Prerequisites: Introduction to the New Testament and Biblical Interpretation.

Upon completion of this course a student will be able to:

1. Examine the gospel records of Jesus' ministry in order to understand the contribution of each evangelist to our understanding of Jesus and the Early Christian Church.
2. Seek to understand Jesus' message in its first environment through exegetical analysis of the historical, literary, social and theological issues in the texts.
3. Establish the principles of Jesus' message which were being taught in these texts and interpret their significance for today.
4. Establish a broad outline of the course of Jesus' public ministry.
5. Explore and assess current scholarship on issues of the historical Jesus, "Q" and archeological findings.

The following competencies as outlined in the Sourcebook on Ordination: United States of America Edition, 2006 to meet the educational requirements for Ordination within the Church of the Nazarene will be achieved by completing this course:

• Ability to summarize the significant life events of Jesus and Paul. (CN-10)
• Ability to identify the significant elements of the message of Jesus and Paul. (CN-11)
• Ability to describe the impact of the historical background of the New Testament on the message of Jesus and Paul. (CN-12)

Introduction to the New Testament and Biblical Interpretation